WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/BFA/W/270 
4 May 2012 
 (12-2403) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
UTILIZATION OF THE MEMBERS' TRANSITION OPERATING FUND 
  I. INTRODUCTION 
1. In conformance with the guidelines establishing the Members' Transition Operating Fund
1 
(the Fund), this document presents: 
a) a financial situation of the Fund;    
b) a request for approval of the Committee to finance the next Common Facilities Projects in 
anticipation of the completion of the new administrative building. 
 
2. It is to be recalled that the Fund was created  to set aside funding for specific expenditures 
related to the building project, that is, costs pe rtaining to the installation of these facilities with 
furniture and technical equipment. 
3. The current financial situation of the Fu nd as at 30 April 2012 is provided below: 
Source of Funding        Amount in Swiss francs   
2007 Surplus 8,051,716 2009 Surplus 1,036,988 
2010 Surplus   10,527,319 
Total   Fund   19,616,023    
 
 Projects authorized  
 South Courtyard Conference Centre (partial financing)   (2,509,445) 
 Common Area & ITTC Furniture (900,000)  Archive Rooms (900,000)  Signage  (200,000)  Catering facilities in CWR (400,000)  Renovation and Equipping of North Wing Conference Rooms  (6,200,000) 
 Data Centre   (700,000) 
 Total projects authorized as at 30 April 2012  ( 11,809,445)   
 
Balance of the Fund as at 30 April 2012 
 Total Fund 19,616,023 
  Projects authorized (11,809,445) 
  Remaining balance of the Fund 7,806,578 
 
 
                                                      
1 WT/BFA/W/178/Rev.1. WT/BFA/W/270 
Page 2  
 
  II. PROJECTS WHERE FUNDING IS REQUIRED 
A. C
ATERING FACILITIES FOR THE NEW BUILDING  
4. The WTO is required to install catering faciliti es in the new building and in the CWR.  An 
initial estimate of CHF 2,500,000 for all cater ing facilities was previously presented to the 
Committee.   
5. The funding for the catering facilities in the CWR has been approved in October 2011 for an 
amount of CHF 400,000.  The work has now been completed.  The coffee shop and a Delegate’s 
dining room located on the lakeside of the new atrium are due to open shortly.   
6. The Secretariat is now seeking the funding for the main restaurant to be installed on the 
lakeside of the ground floor of the new building.  It will replace the current restaurant located on the 
4th floor of the CWR.  The new restaurant will requi re the installation of a professional kitchen and the 
purchase of furniture for the dining area. 
7. The Secretariat has selected the general contractor of the new building, Implenia SA, to 
organise the tendering process for the selection of the company that will install the professional 
kitchen and to monitor the execution of the work.   The general contractor masters the architectural 
plans and holds the adequate civil responsibility insu rance coverage for this type of building related 
works.   The Building Project Director with th e assistance of the architects and engineers will 
supervise the work of the general contractor.  Th is project management structural set-up provides a 
substantial advantage for the WTO to ma intain costs, quality and schedule. 
8. The general contractor has now completed an  open competitive tendering process to select the 
company that will provide and install the kitchen ap pliances.  The funding required for the installation 
of a professional kitchen amounts to CHF 1,700,000. 
9. The Secretariat has decided to include the furniture  for the dining area of the restaurant as part 
of the furniture procurement for the rest of the new building as presented in the next section.   The 
restaurant furniture does not require the technical in tegration of the kitchen equipment.  Therefore, 
there is no advantage to channelling this  process through the general contractor. 
B. FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS FOR THE NEW BUILDING  
10. The Secretariat is planning to start moving into the new building in October 2012.  The move 
shall be completed before the e nd of December 2012 as the Secretar iat will have to vacate the 
currently rented Chemin des Min es building at the same time.   The new building will host the 
Secretariat's administration, IT and language divi sions in a new style of workspace that is based on 
more open and team-based areas.  The building will hold up to 300 staff on the four administrative 
upper floors; the restaurant, data centre and the document production centre on the ground floor; and a 
multifunctional meeting area at the mezzanine level. 
11. The initial cost estimates for the furniture and fu rnishings in June 2011 was CHF 1,800,000.   
This amount excluded the furniture for the restaura nt area that was part of the catering facility 
estimates.    
12. The Secretariat, with the assistance of the arch itect, has defined price terms of references for 
this project and launched an open competitive tende ring process where more than ten companies were 
invited to participate.  Various elements have to be taken into consideration:  (1) the modern 
transparent architectural concept;  (2) the nature of the WTO activities;  (3) the style of the existing 
furniture for harmonization purposes with the choice of colours, finishes and materials for the new  WT/BFA/W/270 
 Page 3 
 
 
  furniture;  (4) the delivery period;  (5) provision of  installation, fitting and after sales warranty and 
maintenance services;  and (6 ) the need for flexibility. 
13. The furniture, fixtures and equipment include chairs, tables, lighting, rugs, moveable 
partitions, parasols, lockers, desks, storage units, storage cabinets, coat  stands and sofas required for: 
(1) the ground floor, including the cafeteria/rest aurant;  (2) the multi-functional areas on the 
mezzanine level;  (3) the administration division team space and meeting rooms.    
14. The competitive selection process is not yet completed.  Several companies have provided 
offers compliant with the requirements.  However the preliminary analyses of the financial offers 
indicate that the project could cost above the original estimates.   
15. The Secretariat will review its requirements and negotiate the prices to maintain the project 
within the original estimates of the catering facility (that included the furniture for the restaurant) and 
the furniture for the rest of the new building, amounting to a total of up to CHF 2,200,000. 
C. RECOMMENDATION  
16. The Secretariat therefore proposes that the Co mmittee adopts the following decision in order 
to allow the Secretariat to move forw ard on the two projects described above: 
The Committee agrees that the following additiona l projects may be funded from the Members' 
Transition Operating Fund for a total amount of CHF 3,900,000:   
 The equipping and installation of the new buildi ng with catering facilities for an amount of up 
to CHF 1,700,000;  
 The equipping and the installation of the ne w building with furniture and furnishings, 
including the restaurant area, for an amount of up to for CHF 2,200,000. 
17. Following the approval of the financing for the new building catering facilities and the new 
building furniture and furnishings, the Fund situation will be: 
 Balance of the Fund as at 30 April 2012 7,806,578 
 Financing of the New Building Catering Facilities (1,700,000)  
 Financing of the Furniture and Furnishings (2,200,000)  
 Projected Balance of the Fund 3,906,578 
18. The remaining balance would be sufficient to c over the remaining projects to be completed by 
the Fund. 
 Security Facilities (1,100,000)  
 Project Director and Architectural Fees (500,000)  Accreditation Facility (1,800,000)  Renovation of the Former Crèche (500,000) 
 Total Estimates for Remaining Projects (3,900,000) 
 
__________